A Journey
by Ace Amity
Summary: Uzumaki Naruto had a different graduation experience than expected. Watch it send him down the path of a great shinobi.
1. The Make-up Exam

So uh, new story, 'nuff said.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. But I do own Fortnite on my Xbox, so that's something, right? Right?

 **Chapter 1: The Make-up Exam**

 **~/~**

"Iruka, wake up!"

Umino Iruka jolted out of bed and stood immediately at attention. All traces of sleep were wiped from his eyes and he stood in a position ready to fight, having only heard a loud noise in the middle of his sleep, not knowing if it was an enemy.

He had been asleep in his bed at the dead of night. That was until he had found his door being quite literally ripped open, his fellow chunin not bothering to knock and wait for permission to enter, the situation seeming urgent.

"What is it Zaji, what happened?"

"It's Uzumaki, he's stolen the Forbidden Scroll!"

Iruka's heart dropped. The Forbidden Scroll had techniques in it so dangerous that the scroll was sealed away by the Shodaime Hokage. If someone caught Naruto with it, considering how people in the village felt about him they'd have no problem with eliminating him with extreme prejudice.

"What! No way, he would never do that!"

"You know how he is Iruka, maybe he's turned against the village."

An angry look in his eyes, he rushed out of his apartment door, almost knocking over his fellow chunin, and feeling all the better for it.

He had to find Naruto before anyone else. Or the consequences could be dire for the young jinchuriki who he'd just starting finding a bond with.

~/~

"There you are Naruto! I was starting to think I'd never find you!"

Naruto walked into the designated clearing, the heavy scroll tied to his back weighing him down.

"Sorry Mizuki-sensei. I had to knock out the Hokage with my super cool ninja powers." He spoke while rubbing the back of his head. Naruto looked at Mizuki, an average enough man, with long white hair and his headband tied like a cap around his forehead, he wore a standard chunin vest, ninja pants, and sandals.

"It's alright, now hand me the scroll."

Naruto untied the scroll from his back and reached out to give it to Mizuki when the man raised his hand, notifying him to stop.

Mizuki looked at Naruto long and hard. 'I could take the scroll to Orochimaru-sama, but what would I get in return? Power, yes, but what if I brought him the jinchuriki? I'd receive respect and strength I couldn't even dream of.'

"Come on Naruto, let's get going."

"Get going? I thought the mission was just to take this scroll from Jiji's office and I could graduate even if I didn't pass the academy test?"

"I did say that Naruto, but after checking with my superiors, I've decided to take you with me on a mission, for you to gain shinobi experience and get to know what us ninja do."

Naruto was ecstatic; "A mission! I get to go on a mission and I didn't even graduate! Take that Sasuke!"

Mizuki turned around and starting moving into the forest, for Naruto to follow.

"Hurry up, unless you want to be late on your first mission." Mizuki called out behind him.

Naruto charged forward with no qualms. He just couldn't understand why Iruka wouldn't let him graduate even though he knew that being a ninja meant everything to him. Mizuki-sensei really understood his dream.

The only thing he didn't understand is why Mizuki gave him looks of loathing when he thought he wasn't looking.

~\~

After almost an hour of tree hopping, Naruto raised the question.

"Hey Mizuki-sensei, where are we going?"

Mizuki thought for a moment and spoke. "We moving towards our client in the Land of Rice. Once we get there they'll give us our mission."

"But didn't you say that I have to learn a technique from the scroll in order to graduate? I haven't learned anything yet."

Putting on a friendly smile, Mizuki answered; "Oh, I almost forgot. Since we don't have to reach our client until tomorrow, we can set camp here and you can practice at your technique while I go get wood for a fire."

Mizuki knew that Naruto would never be able to learn a technique from the scroll, and the most he'd end up doing was exhausting his chakra anyways, and Mizuki was fine with that. It would make it all the easier if Naruto tried to struggle when the time came.

They stopped at a clearing in between the many trees that they had been jumping through.

Naruto spread out the scroll, and looked for techniques of any interest.

"Fuinjutsu: Eight Trigrams Sealing? Sounds lame, and what are all those squiggly lines? Suiton: Great Waterfall Jutsu, Space Time Ninjutsu: Flying Raijin Jutsu? Argh! These don't make any sense!"

Sighing, he kept flipping the pages until he found something that caught his eye.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu? Eh?! A clone Jutsu! If I can master this and show Iruka-sensei that I can perform a clone technique, then I'll graduate no matter what!"

And so he set off to mastering the technique from the scroll, away from home and headed towards an uncertain future.

~/~

A figure sat shrouded in darkness, two other kneeling before him. The kneeling figure to the left spoke.

"The Kyuubi jinchuriki has stolen the Forbidden Scroll of Seals. He has left the village with the academy teacher suspected to be working with Orochimaru, Mizuki."

The figure sitting in front of them replied; "No doubt a plan of Orochimaru's design to obtain the scroll, but to take the jinchuriki? I had thought him smarter than to believe we would let him escape with Konoha's weapon. Even Hiruzen's ninja would have eventually caught up to the boy."

The kneeling figure on the right threw himself in the conversation, "What should we do about this development?"

"Track them down. Being the jinchuriki and the scroll back to Konoha. Eliminate Orochimaru's pawn. If it were just the scroll I'd leave Hiruzen's ninja to take care of it. However, I cannot take the chance that Uzumaki Naruto will end up in the hands of Orochimaru."

The two voices exclaimed in unison, "Understood."

~\~

Mizuki returned with his arms full of firewood and a keen eye to check out Naruto's progress.

He entered the clearing to find at least 1,000 Naruto clones staring down at him from the canopy.

He dropped his firewood.

"Kai!"

No genjutsu was broken, and he tried his hardest to contain his surprise.

'Kami, did he use the Kyuubi to increase his learning curve? There's no way he would've been able to learn such a high level technique without using the demon.'

"You're right Mizuki-sensei, it really isn't that hard to graduate after all."

On the inside, Mizuki was seething at Naruto being able to master a technique that was too advanced for him to use, but on the outside he showed happiness for the young shinobi.

"Maybe I'll even learn a second technique tomorrow, hehe."

"Maybe you will Naruto, maybe you will."

'That is, if he's still breathing by tomorrow afternoon.'

They called it a night, with Mizuki taking the first watch over their camp. When the time finally came to get moving again, it wasn't long before they were less than two miles out from the border, and they could see the tall traditional buildings and hear the bustling city commerce.

They were less than half an hour away from the "client rendezvous point" when Mizuki started to feel an itch on his left arm. It was merely a fly, prompting him to swat at it, only to find another one on his left calf, and his right arm, and his neck.

It was then that he realized that they weren't flies, they were the parasitic insects of the Aburame clan. He released a pulse of chakra to get any of them left off his body, and came to an abrupt stop.

"Naruto! Stop moving, we're under attack."

'It seems Konoha has finally caught up to us.'

"Under attack Mizuki-sensei? By who?"

"This is a part of the graduation exam, these people are here to ambush us on our mission! If we get defeated here, you'll never graduate!"

Naruto was astonished, until a hard glint came in his eyes. "Then I'll defeat everyone here with my new jutsu, no sweat!"

As he said that, a kunai flew towards Mizuki, which he blocked with his own. Naruto saw him leap into the trees, presumably towards the attacker, and followed since he couldn't find where the enemies were himself.

He followed Mizuki into a clearing where Mizuki was locked in a fierce taijutsu battle with a man with orange hair and amber eyes, but he seemed to be losing. The other man's speed and positioning were far superior to his.

He was about to rush in to help Mizuki, until he noticed out of the corner of his eye a man with short black hair and a mask covering the top half of his face subtly sending what looked like insects towards Mizuki.

Knowing that it couldn't be good, Naruto rushed at the man and threw forth his fiercest kick which was promptly dodged. It was like the man wasn't even paying attention to him, and continued sending out the insects to Mizuki, accelerating his already losing battle.

Naruto punched at his face, and the man tilted his head and sent Naruto back with a powerful palm strike to the chest, leaving him sprawled out on the ground.

"Naruto! Regroup!"

Mizuki called him back towards the beginning of the clearing, and he rushed to meet with him.

"Alright listen up Naruto, you're gonna move forwards and give em everything you got, alright? That way, they won't be paying attention to me behind you, and I'll finish the battle. Got it?"

Naruto nodded vigorously. "Got it Mizuki sensei."

"Now go!"

Naruto ran ahead, towards the two in what seemed like ANBU uniforms who had also regrouped as they had. He yelled, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Instantly, around one-hundred Naruto clones appeared, attacking the two ninja with all he had.

They did absolutely nothing. An area attack with insects from the man in with the black hair combined with the insanely fast flurry of tanto strikes from the man with the amber eyes got rid of his clones in under thirty seconds.

When the real Naruto got within twenty feet of them, all backup clones having been dispelled, both of them pulled out multiple kunai, and threw them at an incredible speed Naruto knew he couldn't dodge. However, they flew past him and hit Mizuki, preparing his chakra for a Jutsu behind him.

Mizuki cried out in pain, and Naruto turned around and sprinted as fast as he could towards his direction, not even caring that they could strike him down while his back was turned. He reached his sensei and helped him up.

"Mizuki-sensei, what are we gonna do? I-I don't wanna graduate anymore, let's just go back."

Mizuki looked at him with fire in his eyes, "It's a little too late for that brat. We're gonna stick to this... to the end!"

Mizuki grabbed Naruto and put him in a chokehold with his kunai at his throat.

"Don't move! Don't draw your weapons, don't attack. If you take a step forward, the jinchuriki dies!"

Naruto felt his heart break into pieces. "Sensei, what are you doing! Why?"

He struggled to get out of his grip, but the chunin's grasp was too strong.

The two attackers looked at each other with a nod, before they threw their kunai at him.

Mizuki had a look of fear and surprise in his eyes, and thought, 'So be it. At least I got to kill the demon in the end.'

He slit Naruto's throat as he felt two kunai hit him on both sides of his chest, one just barely missing his heart.

He smiled in his final victory, and looked to find the body of Naruto only to find that he was not there.

Mizuki's bloodied fingers reached together in a hand seal and muttered, "Kai."

The world shimmered around him and Naruto was standing above him, unhurt. Tears formed in the young boy's eyes.

"Why? Why would you do that to me? I trusted you! You're just like everyone else aren't you?"

Mizuki chuckled, until it turned into a full blown laugh, cackling as the life faded out of him.

"I hate you for the same reason everyone else in the village hates you. The Yondaime Hokage never killed the tailed beast that attacked our village, The Nine-Tailed Fox. Instead, he was sealed inside of you. You killed loved ones of almost everyone in the village. You are the Kyuubi!"

Mizuki moves forward with his last action of life, drawing his Fūma shuriken off his back. He moved his arm back to release it, and from the proximity he was standing to Mizuki, it was impossible for him to dodge.

That was until one last kunai from the black haired man struck Mizuki straight in the forehead, ending his life before he could end Naruto's.

Naruto was in absolute shock, his world falling to pieces around him. He stared blankly at the trees in front of him, completely ignoring the enemies that ended his sensei's life.

They walked to him calmly, and spoke in a monotone voice.

"Uzumaki Naruto, you must come with us."

He stood and looked at the two men. If they killed Mizuki, he had no chance. He walked behind them, the two strange ninja leading the way.

His mind filled with the memories of heated glares and looks of disgust.

'They're right to hate me. I killed their precious people. I'm a monster.'

His feet shuffled forwards on their own, all thoughts of graduating wiped from his mind.

~/~

There was an old building next to the academy. It was a former dojo that had fallen out of use due to the children sparring in the yard of the academy for the last couple generations.

Naruto followed the two ninja who had donned ANBU masks, under a henge they had put him on.

They claimed that they were taking him to someone that had all the answers to the questions he had.

They walked into the old dojo, ducking under spider webs and stepping over cockroaches. They entered the bathroom door of the dojo, before the man with orange hair dispelled a genjutsu, revealing a dark passageway leading underground.

He walked with them into a facility area, filled with men and women dressed like the two that he was following.

They looked at him and went back to their work, no looks of interest, neither looks of loathing. It was like they didn't have emotions at all.

Bland gray walls and tile surrounded him as he walked a hallway leading to a single room.

He walked in the room to find an old man, with stringy black hair that fell around the bandages he had over his forehead and right eye. He was dressed in a white kimono with a black robe acting as a sling for his right arm that he had in a brace.

As they approached the chair he sat on, the two ninja knelt before him.

They chorused in unison, "Danzo-sama."

He ignored them and looked straight at Naruto, "Hello young man, may I ask your name?"

Naruto looked him in the eye and spoke, "Uzumaki Naruto."

"A pleasure to meet you Naruto-kun. This is Fū, and this is Torune."

He pointed at the orange haired man and the black haired man respectively.

"You're dismissed."

They left the room and then it was only Naruto and Danzo. Naruto spoke first.

"Who are you?"

Danzo seemed like he was expecting the question.

"My name is Danzo. I am an elder of Konoha who has watched over it for many years."

"Why did you attack me?" He pointedly left Mizuki out.

"As you can see my boy, you are unharmed. I was merely attacking the foolish man who tried to kidnap you."

"Why would he kidnap me?"

"He was to deliver you to a very dangerous man because of what is sealed in your gut."

"So why did you save me? Why do you care? I'm the demon fox who almost destroyed the village!"

He stared calmly at Naruto, whose tears had silently started to roll down his face.

Danzo replied, "Observe."

He palmed a kunai in his left hand, and threw it, the knife flying right past Naruto and imbedding itself in the wall behind him. He then took out a scroll from his desk, and another kunai. With a quick hand seal, he sealed the kunai away into the scroll.

Faster than the eye could see, the left side of Naruto's chest got hit by the scroll, right where his heart was.

Naruto, while startled, realized he was in no mortal danger, and looked up at the old man.

The man exclaimed, "Why aren't you dead on my floor?"

"Because it was just a scroll."

That was the answer Danzo had been looking for because he smiled and said, "Exactly."

"You are no more the Kyuubi than that scroll is a kunai. Those that believe that you are the Kyuubi, such as that foolish teacher of yours are weeds on the great tree of Konoha."

Naruto had understood the explanation and seemed to brighten at the news.

"The great tree of Konoha?"

"Yes Naruto-kun. All of Konoha is a tree, and a tree needs strong roots to keep it standing. That is what we are."

He gestured grandly at the bland facility around him. "We keep Konoha safe from the shadows, so that the tree will stay strong, no matter the folly happening between the leaves."

Naruto nodded in understanding. "So what's my part in all of this? Why are you telling me all this?"

"Because you are the guardian of the great tree. There are eight others like you. Jinchuriki are those who have tailed beasts sealed away in them just like you. Jinchuriki in other nations are celebrated and hailed as heroes for protecting the village."

Naruto balked. 'Heroes? Other than this man, I could count the people that look at me without hatred on one hand!'

Danzo look into his eyes; "You are to be of guardian. A protector of Konoha. You must grow strong. For the jinchuriki of other nations have already earned power and prestige, while you are just starting your journey as a ninja."

Naruto's eyes were shadowed, "I haven't graduated the academy. I'm not a ninja. How can a dead last become the protector of the village? I say I want respect, but all I do is annoy the village with pranks."

"You train.

You train like never before. You are not like the young trainees you have seen on your way to this room. You are destined to shine in the light. You will be someone who will protect the village at all costs, someone the people will look up to."

Danzo continued, "I'll help you achieve that goal, if you'd like." He looked at the boy, waiting for his answer.

Naruto smiled.

 **~/~**

 **And that's a wrap!**

 **Sorry for the short chapter, but I found this a good place to end off.**

 **Love it? Hate it? Let me know!**

 **Until Next Time,**

 **Ace**


	2. The New Naruto?

Two chapters in two days? But it takes me two decades to update The End of an Era? I guess that's the way it goes. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I own Naruto...

Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 as a video game. That's about as much as I can get.

 **Chapter 2: The New Naruto?**

 **~\~**

The Sandaime Hokage took a puff on his pipe, filling the area around him with smoke.

His ANBU were dismissed, for at this time he wished to be alone for contemplation. He stared into the depths of the crystal ball on his desk. The vision shown to him was a young boy, with spiky blonde hair and an orange jumpsuit with blue trim. His eyes were cerulean and he had three marks on his cheeks that looked like whiskers.

This was normal for him. The boy was one he saw as a grandson, so he would check on him often. However, there was the peculiar sight of a navy blue headband on his head. The headband was the signification of being a shinobi, and he was not the one who granted it to him.

What was doubly curious was that yesterday, Naruto had stolen the Forbidden Scroll of Seals, having been tricked by Mizuki, a traitor academy teacher. He had been unable to view the boy with his crystal ball technique as usual, as if something was blocking his Jutsu. The traitor had officially been taken down by ANBU, with the boy and the scroll returning to the village.

However, he hadn't dispatched any ANBU squads.

Nor had he permitted Naruto to be a shinobi.

And there was only one man who had the power to do both.

In a rare fit of anger, the Hokage slammed his fists down on his desk, spider web-like cracks spreading through it. His ANBU stormed into the office, looking for an intruder that managed to get past their watch, only to find the seething Hokage with his desk falling apart, his cigar in pieces on the floor, and a snarl on his face.

~/~

Uzumaki Naruto strolled through the streets whistling a tune, and sat down at his favorite ramen shop.

"Hey old man, I'll get 3 bowls of miso ramen to start!"

"Got an appetite on you huh kid? What else is new? 3 bowls coming right up."

"Of course I do! I'm a ninja now, and ninja have to eat a lot because of all the ass-kicking we do!"

"A ninja now huh? So Hokage-sama finally thought you were ready huh?"

Naruto's smile faltered, "Yeah, something like that."

He finished his meal, said his goodbyes, and headed towards the Hokage tower to take his ninja registration picture, as he had to have it in by today.

He decided to take a shortcut on the way there, but on his way through the alleyways, he saw three figures hidden in the darkness, muttering to each other.

"...defeat the Hokage... secret technique... after all these years... this will be the day..."

Naruto armed himself with three kunai, ready to defend the man he saw as a grandfather. He drew them back, aiming to incapacitate the enemies. He threw the kunai forwards with all his might, stepping on a stone as he did so, tripping and almost falling on his face.

The kunai he threw flew well above his targets, but enough to draw them into the light. He got into a fighting position, unsure of who they would be.

Only to find three students who looked like they just entered the academy tripping over each other. One had straight brown hair and round glasses, with snot running down his nose. To his left was a girl with the orange hair tied up on two sides, and center was a boy with spiky black hair which seemed to be the leader. He had a green scarf around his neck.

"Eh?! You guys are gonna assassinate the Hokage?"

The boy with the scarf stepped forward. "Kill him? I'm just gonna defeat him and take that hat off his head. Then I'll be the Godaime Hokage and put you in jail for attacking us! I'm gonna tell my Jiji!"

"Your grandpa's probably a crazy old man who couldn't catch me even if I walked on my hands!"

"Oh yeah? My name is Konohamaru Sarutobi, so watch how you talk about the Sandaime Hokage! He'll have you locked up in no time once I tell him!"

The little boy had a smirk plastered on his face, seeming like that news was game over.

As if.

"Well I'll tell that old man to get his snot-nosed grandson out of the alleyways! I don't care if your dad was the Shodaime, your brother the Nidaime, and your sister the Yondaime!"

He walked over to the boy and gave him a good hard bonk on the head, and went about his day.

As he walked off, Konohamaru looked at his two friends with a look of awe on his face.

"We have to follow him."

His two friends nodded in agreement.

~/~

Naruto approached the old dojo by the academy and entered the bathroom door.

He formed a hand sign and released the genjutsu around the perimeter, and walked through the tunnel leading him to ROOT's underground base.

He walked straight past all the trainees and officers alike, knowing there was only one person in the facility whom he wished to talk to.

As he reached Danzo's room, he got apprehensive, as he still didn't know how to feel about the man. But apprehension wouldn't get him anywhere, so he opened the door and stepped forward.

Danzo was waiting for him.

"Danzo."

"Naruto-kun, I knew you wouldn't be gone for long. How are you?"

"I'm fine, but team selections are in a week, so I have to get ready."

"It seems we're on the same line of thought my boy. I can't have the future protector of the leaf showing himself a dead last to his team."

"We're gonna train?"

To answer his question he made a gesture with two of his fingers. Out of the shadows, Fū and Torune appeared.

"Fū will be teaching you taijutsu, genjutsu, and kenjutsu, while Torune will be teaching you ninjutsu and tactics."

"How am I gonna learn all that in a week?"

"The Shadow Clone Jutsu is perhaps the most useful clone technique there is. Any and all memories that your clone experiences, and with the amount of clones you can produce, your learning curve will grow exponentially. You have perhaps greater potential than anyone who currently resides in Konoha."

Naruto smiled and got ready to begin, until he realized Danzo wasn't finished talking. He had a serious look on his face.

"Naruto. What is the number one rule?"

"Don't tell old man Hokage!"

A grin appeared on Naruto's face; "Now let's get started!"

~/~

Naruto walked out past the academy, watching the empty halls with a feeling of nostalgia. This was where he met Iruka, and all his classmates, and even though everyone wasn't the nicest to him, they were his to protect. And that brought a smile to his face.

He was still beat from Danzo's training. That man could really throw it at you. He figured Ichiraku's twice in one day wouldn't be too bad for him, and let his feet trace the familiar path to his favorite eatery.

Until he noticed a box following him.

Make that three boxes.

"I swear to Kami if it's those three squirts from earlier I'm gonna give someone an ass-kicking!"

He watched the three boxes scuttle away as if they were never there.

He sighed and walked up to where the boxes moved, and kicked the cardboard off of them, leaving the three kids from before.

"Just as I expected from you boss!"

Naruto face palmed; "Why are you kids following me?"

"I'm Konohamaru, this is Udon, and that's Moegi! We're the Konohamaru corps!"

Naruto mumbled, "Doesn't answer my question."

"We're here to get you to train us boss! You attacked us with kunai at the perfect height to fall down on us, forcing us out in the open or else we'd get hit! You're a genius boss! And I'm gonna need someone like that training me if I'm ever gonna beat my old man for the title of Hokage!"

"And if I teach you a technique, you leave me alone?"

"Sure boss, of course!"

Naruto nodded at them to follow him into one of the local training grounds, not noticing the crossed fingers behind Konohamaru's back. He made a clone once he got to the training grounds.

"Konohamaru, Udon, follow me."

Naruto lead away the two boys while his clone was faced with Moegi.

'She seems the least annoying of this bunch.'

"Okay, I'm gonna teach you the Henge no Jutsu, got it?"

She replied meekly, "Yeah, got it boss, for sure!"

"Alright, so you're gonna get a good visual of what you want to transform into, and use your chakra to make it seem like you really are that person, got it?"

She gave a quick nod and started working.

~/~

Meanwhile, with the real Naruto, he was teaching them the Henge no Jutsu as well. However, it was not a variant of the Henge that Moegi would be interested in learning.

His Sexy Jutsu seemed to take Udon less than an hour to complete, and he sent the boy over towards Moegi to take a rest, since he didn't have as much chakra as Konohamaru did.

Konohamaru was panting on the floor, out of breath and frustrated.

"Why can't I get this Jutsu! This is the one you used to defeat Jiji right?"

Naruto nodded.

"This jutsu is impossible! I give up! I'll find a better way to become Hokage than your stupid training!"

A frown came upon Naruto's face; "You're just gonna give up, just like that? If that's all it takes to break your resolve, than you'll never become Hokage, and definitely not over me!"

Anger flashed in Konohamaru's eyes and he charged Naruto. However, he was even more helpless than Naruto was in the academy, considering he was only in his first year.

He sloppily punched at him, and Naruto deflected it and kicked him, hard. If anything this just seemed to fire up the young boy even more. He charged once again, not experienced enough and too enraged to realize that a forward attack wouldn't work.

He punched and kicked and threw elbow strikes and knee strikes, and none of them touched the older boy. Naruto punched and kicked back, not at full strength but enough to injure him. Konohamaru once again charged Naruto, going for a leg sweep that Naruto jumped over. While Naruto was in the air, he lashed out with a hard kick that struck Konohamaru straight in the face.

Konohamaru lied on the floor, bloodied and beaten.

"Give up."

Konohamaru heard Naruto speak.

"Give up and I won't hit you again, I swear. I'll forget you tried to attack me, and you won't see me again. I don't like beating up kids."

Konohamaru snarled and arose to punch Naruto, only for a palm strike to the shoulder to send him back to the ground.

"Give up."

Konohamaru rose again and saw Naruto inches away from him. He flinched as he felt Naruto reach his hand out.

Naruto ruffled Konohamaru's hair.

The scarfed boy opened his eyes to see Naruto smiling at him.

"That's more like it. If you never give up, and stick to your ninja way, you'll become Hokage."

Konohamaru's eyes widened.

"It's not easy, and a lot of people will tell you that you can't do it. Keep up that way of thinking, never let anyone tell you that it's impossible. Never. Give. Up."

"I'll be glad to fight you for the title of Hokage, when the time comes." Naruto continued.

Konohamaru was speechless, and Naruto kept silent for a long moment.

"Why do you want to become Hokage?"

Konohamaru seemed to find his voice; "I-I'm the grandson of the Sandaime. I was named Konohamaru, after the village itself, so it should be something easy to remember. But no one knows my name. They only see the honorable grandson. I want to become Hokage, so that everyone will know my name. I won't be stuck in the shadow of my grandfather."

Naruto nodded; "I used to be like that too. For some reason, everyone in the village seems to hate me. I wanted to become the Hokage so that I'd be acknowledged, I'd be respected. But then I realized that I need to do something to earn their respect. So I've vowed to protect the village, every man, woman, and child. I'll protect this village until I've gained everyone's respect. And then I'll become Hokage. And I'll be happy to hand the position to you when I'm done."

Konohamaru's eyes started to water.

"Y-Yeah, well I'm n-not waiting around for you to f-finish being Hokage. Y-You're gonna have to beat me f-first."

They both lied down on the grassy clearing and stared up at the sky.

And somehow, a bond formed.

Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled at his crystal ball. The next generation surpasses the last indeed.

'You've changed my boy. You'll be the greatest of us all, Naruto.'

~/~

"Oh shoot oh shoot oh shoot I'm late!"

Naruto ran through the streets towards the Hokage tower. He had to take his ninja registration picture by the end of the day and the office closed in less than five minutes.

Entering the building, he rushed past the secretary, almost spinning her in a complete circle. He fell through the door panting. He had made it with less than 30 seconds left. The photographer was still there.

The man glared at him once recognizing him and said, "I leave in 15 seconds whether your picture is taken or not."

Naruto rushed into the seat and put on a hasty smile, not having enough time to think of a pose.

The camera snapped, and the photographer seemed almost disappointed that he was able to make it.

As the man left, Naruto looked to the door to find the Sandaime Hokage looking at his tired, panting visage.

"Ah Naruto-kun, would you mind taking a walk with me? It's been too long."

"Of course Jiji!"

They strolled past the library imbedded in the Hokage monument.

"A ninja now, are you?"

Naruto visibly tensed; "I guess so. Team selections aren't that far away, which is cool, unless I get on a team with Sasuke."

"You know, a Hokage learns to tolerate all of his colleagues, whether he likes them or not." The Hokage spoke with a certain man on his mind.

"Yeah, but I got a long journey ahead of me! I've just started, I'll be the greatest, just wait!"

"Nothing would make me happier than to hand over the hat to you when the time comes, but why do you want to be Hokage?"

Naruto was reminded of his conversation with Konohamaru, but was confused. He had been proclaiming his dream for years now, and the Sandaime had never asked him why.

"Well, there's a lot of people in this village. Each of them have their own jobs, their own lifestyles, and their own precious people. I never had a lot of that. But I found people who believe in me, people that think I can be something. And well, I want to protect that, not just for me, but for everyone in the village. That's why I want to be Hokage. To protect everyone. I'll become the protector of this village, and people will look up to me."

Hiruzen's eyes widened in disbelief. He never thought Naruto to be so profound. What had caused this way of thinking? He hadn't been the same since Mizuki had attempted to remove him from the village. Something had changed.

"Then I'm sure you'll lead the village like no one has before. Maybe I'll be remembered then, eh? Sarutobi Hiruzen, a friend of Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto beamed at the Hokage with deep seated gratitude. The two sat on the head of the Yondaime Hokage and looked out over the village in silent companionship.

~/~

Naruto woke up bright and early, for today was the day of team selection. Quickly eating a bowl of ramen for breakfast, he rushed to the academy so as to not be late.

As he walked through the academy door he was somewhat excited to see his peers again.

He apparently wasn't as early as he thought he was, because the only people that weren't there were Sasuke's fangirls, probably taking extra time getting ready since they hadn't seen Sasuke since the graduation exams.

He went to sit down at the left side of the class, when his peer leveled him with a glare.

"This seat is for Ikaro."

He wandered from seat to seat, and was hit with the same response tailored to a different "friend".

Out of options, a grumbling Naruro plopped down next to Uchiha Sasuke, and looked away from him.

"Uchiha."

"Uzumaki."

And that was that, until Sasuke's girl club arrived at the academy, Sakura and Ino the front runners. The former a pale girl with emerald eyes and pink hair, and the latter a blonde girl with her hair in a ponytail.

They all marched up to him with heated glares.

Ino spoke first; "What are you doing sitting next to Sasuke?"

"This was the only place to sit, so I'm sitting here."

Sakura jumped into the conversation, "Well you better find somewhere else, because that seat belongs to me."

Naruto sighed, and wanted to say how fighting like children over him wasn't the way to make him fall for you, but he didn't want to hurt Sakura's feelings.

As he started to stand up to find a different seat and see who would win the battle of Sasuke's seat, a clear voice cut through the air.

"Lay off him. Uzumaki stays."

The girls were just as surprised as he was, but he lowered himself back into his seat with a tiny smile.

Just then, Iruka burst into the classroom and ordered everyone into their seats, cementing his spot in class.

"Alright guys, everyone in this room has become a ninja. All of you have proven that you have what it takes to serve the village. In just a moment a jonin will come to gather each of your teams, which are the following."

As he listed off the teams, Naruto heard a lazy voice behind him.

"Why're you here Naruto? I thought this was for graduating ninja."

"Well Shikamaru, I have my regulation headband don't I? That's all you need to know."

Shikamaru muttered, "Troublesome." He put his head down on the desk.

"Team 7: Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, and Haruno Sakura.

Team 8: Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino

Team 9 is still in circulation.

Team 10: Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Chouji."

Sasuke looked contemplative, and Sakura looked at Sasuke with stars in her eyes.

Naruro smirked.

~/~

They were sitting in an empty classroom, and had been waiting almost two hours for their tardy sensei.

"Our sensei is taking forever! Why couldn't we have gotten one of the jonin that was actually on time."

Sakura looked at him in annoyance; "Our sensei is an elite ninja. I'm sure they have a good reason for being late."

Sasuke didn't comment, but he seemed irked at the tardiness of their sensei as well.

"Well, I suppose that's my cue."

In the middle of the room appeared a man wearing a regulation flak jacket, pants and sandals. He had a mask over the lower half of his face, and his shinobi headband was pulled over his left eye.

Sakura spoke up to the man, "Are you our sensei?"

If the man heard her, he didn't show it.

"You all seem like fools. Meet me on the roof. Now."

The man disappeared without a trace.

A hurt expression appeared on Sakura's face, and an angry one on Naruto and Sasuke's.

They headed up to the roof.

Once up there, they found their sensei reading a book, and not paying attention to them at all.

Their pink-haired teammate cleared her throat to get his attention.

The man seemed startled, as if he hadn't noticed them, and lowered his book.

"Let's get to know one another, I don't know you guys, and you don't know me. Who knows? Maybe you guys don't know each other. Nevertheless, let's introduce ourselves. Names, likes, dislikes, dreams for the future. The easy stuff."

Sakura replied, "Can you go first? To show us how it's done?"

The man closed his book and said, "Well, I just told you how it was done, but I suppose so."

Sakura flushed in embarrassment.

"My name is Hatake Kakashi. I like lots of things, but there are things that I dislike too. I don't really have any dreams for the future at the moment. Now you pinky."

"Well, I'm Haruno Sakura. What I like, well the person I like is..."

She looked at Sasuke and her cheeks grew red.

"I dislike people that annoy me, like Naruto and Ino-pig. And well, my dream for the future is..."

She looked at Sasuke once again, and blushed.

Kakashi's drawl cut through the air; "Okay I think I've heard enough. The broody one, you're next."

Sasuke had a frown on his face and said, "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I like a very few amount of things, and dislike a large amount. I don't have a dream for the future because it is something that will happen no matter what. I'll revive my clan and kill a certain person."

"Okay! Good to know, now your turn blondie."

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, I like ramen, and training to become strong. I dislike those who would be weeds to the tree of the village, and waiting for my ramen to cook. My dream is to become Hokage, and the protector of the village."

'Naruto turned out a bit different than I expected. But the tree of the village? Where have I heard that before?'

"I think we're done for today, I just wanted to give you a chance to know each other before you take the test."

Naruto perked up; "The test? I thought we already took the test?"

"You think you can be a genin with a couple Jutsu that my dog could probably learn? I won't take you as my students until you pass my test. And I'll warn you, you're not gonna like it."

Naruto replied, "I'll take any test you throw at me!"

Kakashi chuckled; "Let's see if the 66% failure rate will stop you like it stopped the others. The test starts tomorrow morning, 6:00, training ground 7."

The young ninja were in outrage, "66% failure rate? No way!"

The jonin looked at them and ignored her outburst; saying, "Don't eat breakfast tomorrow. You'll regret it."

And with that he dropped off the side of the building, and disappeared.

Sakura spoke up first; "So Sasuke, you want to get lunch just you and me? To get to know each other better because we're a team now."

Sasuke just walked away from her with his hands in his pockets, taking the stairs down to ground level.

Sakura followed him and shut the door to the stairs. Naruto frowned at her dislike of him and went to open the door after her. Only to find that it was locked. He pulled a couple more times and then growled in frustration.

It seemed the only way out was down, so he jumped off the roof down to the earth beneath.

Right in the middle of the academy playing ground.

He heard three voices in unison, "Naruto-nii-san!"

He turned around to see Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon rushing towards him.

Only to be intercepted by Iruka.

"Recess is over, and you three are the only ones out of class! If I get to class and you aren't in there, it's detention for all three of you!"

The children scurried off towards their class, their dislike of detention overpowering their desire to see Naruto.

Iruka sighed and looked at Naruro with a beaming smile.

"Naruto, you have no idea how glad I am to see you. When I couldn't find you that night I-"

Tears started to well in his eyes.

"I thought something would happen to-"

Naruto placed a hand on his shoulder, surprised at being the one to reassure his former sensei rather than the other way around.

"Hey Iruka-sensei, it all turned out all right. But if you're really feeling guilty, you could treat me to some ramen!"

A smile crept on Iruka's face, "Sure thing Naruto. Come on, let's go see the students."

With a shrug Naruto followed Iruka into the classroom, where he saw a bunch of kids around the age group of Konohamaru.

'Was I really this small when I was their age?'

Iruka addressed the classroom, "Class, this is Uzumaki Naruto. He just graduated from the academy not that long ago. As a demonstration of how you'll grow throughout the academy, would anyone like to spar with him?"

Three hands immediately went up, those of the Konohamaru corps.

"Since you three were late to class, none of you can spar with him!"

They all whined about how it was unfair, but Iruka's eyes were drawn to the sole person who had raised their hand other than Konohamaru and his friends.

Naruto thought, 'How did I get dragged into this?'

"Hyuuga Hanabi, step forward."

Naruto looked at the little girl, and who had dark hair and white eyes with a tinge of lavender.

'This girl looks just like Hinata.'

They went outside and everyone gathered around the sparring area.

Naruto and Hanabi stood inside the circle and Iruka yelled, "Begin!"

Hanabi immediately took a Jūken stance and Naruro stood with his hands in his pockets.

"So you're a Hyuuga huh? Do you know anyone named Hinata?"

A frown adorned her face; "Hinata is my failure of an older sister."

Naruro snarled; "A failure? How could you talk that way about your own sister!"

"She can't even beat me and I am five years her junior. She is a failure of a clan heiress, and you seem to be a failure as well."

Her eyes bulged and she activated the Byakugan.

She charged him with palm strikes and finger strikes. He danced out of their way, and she tried to sweep his legs out from beneath him, which he jumped over.

She thrust finger strikes at him with her left hand, which he deflected with his left and kicked out at her with his right foot, pushing her back.

She attempted a flurry of more finger strikes to which he dodged or blocked all of them.

He was about to charge after her before he started feeling an ache in his arms in every place he blocked her strikes.

'So that's your game huh?'

Iruka looked out at the spar with worry in his eyes. He knew that Naruto wasn't the best in the academy, while Hanabi was one of their best. He was surprised when Naruto seemed to be doing surprisingly good, dodging most of her strikes. However, he didn't know the gentle fist style of the Hyuuga clan, and its dangers. The Byakugan allowed them to see tenketsu, or chakra points. So every strike that touched their opponent could close them off, giving them an opportunity to make them weaker as time went on.

Naruto upped his speed and rushed at Hanabi, to which she returned with a palm strike aimed at his chest. He dodged and swept her legs out from beneath her. She tried to aim at chakra points in his legs, before he kicked her arm on the inside of her elbow, causing her arm to fold.

She struggled to get up but she found Naruto's fist at her throat, in place of kunai.

Naruto wore a cheeky grin, "Yield please."

Hanabi glared at him and mumbled, "I yield."

The class cheered and Naruto thought begrudgingly, "She probably would've beat me had I not started my training.'

Before she walked away, he called out to her.

"Hey, you lost."

Hanabi's face scrunched up in anger, and she was about to speak before she was interrupted.

"Does that make you a failure?"

"Of course not, I am the pride of the Hyuuga clan."

"I don't really care about all that. There's always gonna be someone stronger than you, so just because you're the one on top doesn't mean that your opponent is a failure."

The class watched the exchange, with the Konohamaru corps taking about how cool Naruto was. 'You've changed, Naruto. You're starting to become a true shinobi.' Iruka thought.

Naruto said his goodbyes and left the academy, leaving Iruka with a smile on his face and Hanabi with a lot to think about.

~/~

The alarm woke him up early. He jumped out of bed and threw on his clothes, not bothering to eat breakfast.

He had been warned not to after all.

Opening his door, he took a breath of fresh air and took off. Today was the day he started his journey to his every goal in life.

There was no way he was gonna screw this up.

~/~

Sakura woke up and dressed up in her most suitable clothes. Those that matched with ninja work and made her look cute at the same time. She had started to scrutinize herself in the mirror, looking for any imperfections.

"Sakura-chan, breakfast is ready!"

"No thanks mom, I'll be fine without it."

She had been warned not to eat after all.

She raced down the stairs and headed to training ground 7. Today was the day she cemented herself on a team with Sasuke, and would prove to him that she was the girl he needed. The day that she would make her family and friends proud.

There was no way she was gonna screw this up.

~/~

Sasuke woke up. He didn't need an alarm, for he'd been waking up early to train for the past week, his body being used to the early time.

He walked through the halls of his home, the residence of the clan head. The leader of the Uchiha clan. He'd taken all pictures off the walls, not wanting to be reminded, not wanting to break down. The only thing he needed to remember was his hatred. His drive to avenge his clan.

He got dressed in his navy blue shirt with white shorts and white arm warmers, with blue shinobi sandals. He walked towards the kitchen, and walked past it. He was skipping breakfast today.

He had been warned not to eat after all.

Today was the day that he took his first step to killing his brother and bringing his clan back to its former glory.

There was no way he was gonna screw this up.

~/~

The three academy graduates met up at training ground 7. Each of them picked a tree to sit under, having their own space but close enough to talk at the same time.

Naruto broke the silence, "I'm going to become a ninja. I'm not letting any 66% failure rate stop me." He said quietly.

Sasuke grunted in agreement; "You better not get in my way."

Naruto seemed like he had been expecting the answer, and kept silent, satisfied with knowing that his teammate had the same drive as he did.

Maybe once upon a time he would have argued, saying how he was the superior ninja and that he was going to be Hokage, but that was not as such now.

Sakura watched the exchange, and was surprised at her teammates' lack of anxiety. She kept silent as well, not wanting to showcase her nervousness.

An hour passed. Then two. Then three.

Finally, their sensei showed up in a swirl of leaves. He had the same book as yesterday day in his hands, but he looked like he had made considerable progress in finishing it.

Kakashi broke the silence, "The test will be a survival test."

He reached into one of his flak jacket picked and pulled out two bells tied to a string.

"In order to become a genin, you must get one of these bells. You will have 3 hours until the alarm clock I will set has rung. You must attack me with the intent to kill, or else you have no chance of even touching a bell."

'There are only two bells, but you need one to graduate, which means that only two of us are becoming genin.' Sasuke thought.

"Everybody understand the rules?"

Everyone nodded.

"Begin."

 **~/~**

 **There goes chapter two. I feel like Kakashi was a bit rough, but he'll lighten up as time goes on. Too much Konohamaru/academy kids? I don't know. Team selection is at the academy anyways, so I just thought, "What the heck, I'll introduce him to Hanabi, and give him another part with the Konohamaru corps." I had to use this chapter as a sort of downtime in the village after the Mizuki incident.**

 **I can't really be updating this fast anymore, I was just on a writing streak and wanted to keep it going.**

 **The incident with Mizuki will always be a major turning point in Naruto's life, no matter what he goes through. This, along with his time with people like Danzo, Fū, and Torune have changed him a bit, which has been pointed out by a couple characters this chapter. He is the same Naruto from canon for the most part, with some differences.**

 **For those of you who asked about pairings, I'm not sure at the moment, but I do know that any serious relationships won't be happening until around the Shippuden mark. I do know that the pairing will NOT be yaoi. Nothing against it, it's just not my thing. Phew. Sorry for the long author's note.**

 **Love it? Hate it? Let me know!**

 **Until Next Time,**

 **Ace**


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